The first decent analysis from a newspaper this year. They hit it right on the head with this one regarding the proposed merger with UAL:

"They put the entire future of the airline into this merger," said Roy Freundlich, who served as chief spokesman for US Airways' pilots union from 1997 through 2003. "They spent an entire year on getting that merger through. It was the greatest neglect of the airline."

They neglected little things like the growth of Airtran, SW, Jetblue; the advent of regional jets; they neglected cost containment. Bad planning, too costly an operation and the lack of will to implement change quickly has all but killed them off.

While I still see this as a 'shotgun' wedding overseen by GE Credit, Airbus and others, I do agree that this HP-US merger may be the only hope for US now and maybe even HP in the long run. Still, there will be people booted on the line, but glad to see some 'managers' and executives booted. The HQ will be in PXH, which is probably has a (slightly) cheaper cost of living than DC/northern VA area, as well as certain tax advantages. I just hope that this merger works out and keeps the majority of employees.

This article was well written and offered very strong, objective analysis of the situation (who would have thought that "well written" and "strong" would every be used to describe a journalistic account of the airline industry?).

I agree with just about every point it makes. As the article points out, the writing has been on the wall for everybody in or around US since the late 1990s when labor issues began to bubble up. The proposed (but doomed from the start) UA merger not only exacerbated labor unrest but totally took the US management's eye of the ball by taking their attention away from lowering costs and fighting back the low cost carriers that now rule the eastern seabord. Then 9/11 hit, and the you-know-what hit the fan. Now, nearly four years after September 11, and nearly a decade since US' troubes began to surface, the game is up. US has not other option but this HP merger. US is boxed into a corner, but HP is not, which is why I am surprised that HP's otherwise very smart management team would want to take this merger on. Nonetheless, I wish the best to all the people and families involved with both airlines, but have very serious doubts and reservations about the potential and success of the about-to-be-announced US-HP tie up.

If the companies merge there will still be lay-offs. One of the basic assumption of any merger is that synergies are created that allow duplicate functions to be eliminated and responsibilities to be consolidated.

However, line workers (at least in locations were there is no overlap of service) are probably in a much better position than middle management whose jobs can be consolidated in one location with relative ease.

I think that is quite possible, and it sets up what I feel confident will be the single biggest integration issue between the two carriers -- more than fleets, routes, facilities, equipment -- and that is, of course, labor. Labor is always the most prickly integration issue when two airlines combine, but the overwhelming (and justifiable) bitterness of the US folks is not going to help the situation much, especially since I doubt that even more concessions and work rule changes is going to go over real big with US workers.

I hope this works! HP is a great airline that has rebuilt itself several times to survive. The only good point as far as jobs go is that there is relatively little overlap in hubs etc. I hope this keeps the front line jobs a little more secure. HP has done a fantastic job of competing and even thriving in WN's backyard! I hope they can bring that skill to BWI,PHL etc. My biggest fear is that this may kill both carriers. I wish that the HP brand would take over but oh well.